West Bengal teachers recruitment scam: CBI nabs Chandan Mondal

Kolkata: The CBI on Friday had arrested six middlemen in connection to the teachers recruitment scam including Subrata Samanta Roy, Koushik Ghosh, Sahid Imam, Sk. Ali Imam, Abdul Khalek and Chandan Mondal.

It may be recalled that Chandan Mondal’s name surfaced after former joint director of the CBI Upen Biswas, who is also a former minister of West Bengal, revealed his ‘name’ through a video message posted on social media.

Mondal used to bring bags of money from Bagda

In the video message he named Chandan as ‘Ranjan’ and said that he used to bring bags of money from Bagda in North 24 Parganas to Kolkata which he got by offering several teaching and non-teaching jobs in state-run schools.

According to CBI sources, the central agency had called Chandan for quizzing at their headquarters in Nizam Palace and after ‘inconsistency’ in his replies the CBI had arrested him.

On being produced to special CBI court, the court had given Chandan CBI custody till February 21.

However, both Upen Biswas and Calcutta High Court’s Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay said that it is ‘too late’ for the central agency to arrest Chandan Mondal.

While Biswas said that CBI had ‘missed the bull’s eye’, Justice Gangopadhyay questioned about the results that would be yielded by arresting Chandan so late.

Though CPI (M) and BJP called the development as arrest of ‘small thieves’, TMC minister Firhad Hakim said that if anyone is found ‘guilty’ punishment will be given ‘as per law’.